Hayden to Ducati announcement very soon

**FireFly** · 09-09-2010, 02:20 AM

IMO thats great news for all involved. Fresh starts....

**Leeloo** · 09-09-2010, 07:18 AM

lightcycle.... the spinal tap reference was classic !!

**Xzcuais** · 09-09-2010, 11:20 AM

Hopkins is busted up again (still?). He left the Brno test a day early due to rib problems sustained in crash during race weekend.

**Agent Krug** · 09-09-2010, 04:05 PM

No way those days are over.
It's called bike control.

No amount of super sophisticated traction control will keep a Moto GP bike from sliding on the limit. The riders that have that sort of bike control will carry more speed and steer through the turns.

The Ducati will suit him well.

Much like an F1 car the Moto GP bike even more so must be taylor made for the rider's style. Honda just hasn't been putting its resources behind Hayden which at this level you must to win.

**Master4** · 09-09-2010, 11:21 PM

Drivers? Don't you ride a bike, not drive it? Hayden is an EXCELLENT choice by Ducati. The bike will suit hs riding style well. Casey and Nicky have the same dirt track background. Sure the 800's aren't nearly the [slide it sideways and backing it in, then light up the rear and get it sideways on the exit] animals that the 990's were, but the dirt track experience is still a huge benefit. Watch Casey ride! He slides that 800 around a lot, especially on corner entry, not as much on exit now as the 990's, but they still get the 800's sideways quite a bit. That bike moves around on Casey alot, unlike the smooth unwobbling style of Rossi, but Nicky likes a bike that moves around on him just like Casey, so it seems like a great match to me. I think we will see good results from Nicky on the GP9, but only time will tell. Hell it hasn't even been officially announced that he will ride for them yet, but it sounds like the deal is pretty much done.

-ND

**Cole B** · 09-10-2010, 04:17 AM

Still residual injuries from Assen (I think it was there). Hard impact after a lowside into the barriers. Broke his left ankle and busted himself up good besides. He certainly has been injury prone lately, but I got to say those guys who never go down probably aren't riding on the limit and Hopper sure pushes it hard. I have total respect for him and will always be a supporter. Not as brash or outspoeken as Nicky, but anyone who can ride a GP bike at an age when most others can barely keep a production bike upright earns mucho respect!

**Donald I** · 09-10-2010, 08:12 AM

The article I read said Hopper hurt his ribs in Brno. That's why he left the test session after only completing a few laps. I think the article was posted on crash.net

**bostonguy98765** · 09-10-2010, 02:46 PM

Guys,

I've been listening to this Hayden/HRC BS for the last year and a half, and I feel compelled to throw a voice of reason into the discussion. Let's put things into historical context:

Hayden won the World Title for Repsol Honda in '06, the last year for the one liter bikes. That's huge. It wasn't just Hayden who was starting the '07 season as reigning World Champ; Repsol Honda was also returning as World Champs. Hayden didn't win by walking around the circuits; he rode a Repsol Honda.

During the off-season, HRC, (and all the other teams), worked hard to develop a competitive 800cc motogp bike. You can be damned sure HRC wanted to repeat in '07 with Hayden on the 800cc Respol Honda. Do you really think Respol Honda entered the '07 season as World Champs, with the World Champion piloting their bike, and didn't focus their energy on repeating with Hayden? That's simply ridiculous.

They built the best bike they could and put their two riders on it. It just so happens that the smaller, younger Pedrosa was faster than Hayden on the 800cc Honda. It is what it is. Once that became apparent, Pedrosa became Repsol Honda's number one rider and recieved the bulk of HRC's attention. You can't fault HRC for that. Pedrosa was their best bet to repeat. It has nothing to do with, "typical Spanish attitudes," (whatever that means). If I were head of HRC, once I realized Pedrosa was faster than Hayden, I'd focus my resources on Pedrosa also. That's not about attitude; that's about winning. Anybody who wouldn't have done that doesn't know how to win. To do anything else would be foolish.

Since the 800cc bikes arrived, Hayden's fans have been crying about he was the reigning World Champ and how Respol Honda didn't do right by him 'cause Pedrosa is Spanish, wah, wah, wah... What a load of crap! Time to man-up. Pedrosa is faster than Hayden. That's the fact. That's why Pedrosa is HRC's number one guy; not 'cause he's Spanish.

As far as Hayden riding for Ducati...I root for Ducati, not the rider. I'm not into the, "cult of personality." These guys are motorcycle racers, not rockstars, and I refuse to be drawn into that nonsense. Hell, I'd even root for that obnoxious punk, Rossi, if he raced for Ducati. So I'll root for Hayden. But am I confident that he'll be fast on the GP9 just 'cause he has dirt bike experience? Not at all. I would have preferred that they tested him on the Sedici before making this move. What are they gonna do if it turns out Hayden can't ride the GP9? And how long will they go with him until they bail? Hell, I would have preferred that Ducati signed Gibernau for next year. At least he's a known quantity. He's tested on the Sedici a few times, and has been consistently fast on it, almost as fast as Stoner. And Sete is a class act, which is more than you can say about Hayden. We've never had to listen to Gibernau crying and making excuses when he didn't win.

Just my opinion.

Elton

**Simon W** · 09-10-2010, 09:52 PM

Here's the article

http://www.crash.net/motorsport/motogp/news/167843-0/injury_sidelines_hopkins_again.html

**discoboyzero** · 09-11-2010, 06:35 AM

A.) Yes, I really do think that! Not rediculous at all. They know the bikes are going to be smaller so they concentrate on Pedrosa. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Do the math Perdosa had over a 30lb advantage over Hayden. Of course he's going to be faster on the miniscule RC212V. It's the smallest bike in the grid. Pedrosa is the national boy for Repsol, so of course they are going to concentrate on him more. If Repsol was an american company they would have concentrated on Nicky more. Repsol was on Pedrosas side from the first time they signed him. Just so happens Nicky was way faster on the 990 than Dani, and he won the title for them. Repsol was definitely going into the season with Pedrosa in mind as soon as they started to develop the new bike. It's rediculous to think they weren't

B.) It's dirt track experience, not dirt bike experience. Big difference there. It's flat track dirt racing (oval track racing on dirt), not supercross dirtbike experience flying off of jumps and carving burms.

C. That "obnoxious punk Rossi" won multiple championships for HRC and they still treated him like shit. They lost him to Yamaha. If they would have treated him better, and kept him, they would have even more championships in their trophy case. Rossi is by far the best rider on the grid. I root for Stoner too, but look how rattled Stoner is getting now with Rossi behind him putting pressure on him and getting into his head. Last two races prove who the better rider is. You don't see Rossi make mistakes like Stoner has this year. Casey's off tracked A LOT this year.

Who knows, maybe Hayden will blow chunks on the GP9 and end up like Melandri. Marco is a great rider, but can't tame the Ducati. Haydens experience comes from a much different background than Marco though too. Marco started on pocketbikes. I think Nicky should do pretty well. Only time will tell...if he even gets signed by them that is.

Not trying to start a debate here, just my opinion, on your opinion. Much love.

-ND